


so this is love

by pastisregret



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Cinderella Elements, F/M, Fluff, nino zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 01:17:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20283001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastisregret/pseuds/pastisregret
Summary: Alya meets a charming and handsome prince at a ball, but must depart and leave him at the sound of the clock, chiming it's reminder to leave.





	so this is love

**Author's Note:**

> finally! my piece for the nino zine <3

“You have until midnight.”

Alya had heard Trixx tell her that dozens of times, going so far as to almost accompany her to the ball and make sure she didn’t overstay her welcome. There had been plenty to worry about, and none without its good reasons. She had left the house, and the slightest hint she had attended would leave to Alya getting locked up for all eternity, if not longer.

Still, she couldn’t lie and say it wasn’t worth it. It was a dream come true, coming to the ball. And with a mask hiding her features, Alya could marvel and admire in peace, free to linger in certain areas without the usual sense of fear coming over her.

Even now, she was entranced with the glamour of the palace. Unable to stop herself, she let her hands reach out, touching the beautiful statue that graced the hallway leading to the ballroom, of the man who the ball was arranged for.

“The prince is handsome, wouldn’t you say?” a voice behind her spoke, but Alya didn’t turn her gaze their way, preferring the still figure before her. She let her gloved hands fall onto the sculpted face’s cheek, wondering if he’d be as smooth as the marble.

“Yes, I suppose so,” she answers after a moment, keeping half a mind to be polite. Alya wondered if the sculpture was accurate to his features, or if the prince was possibly even more handsome in person. “Whomever catches his fancy tonight will surely become a lucky girl.”

“Indeed, they will. Have you met him yet?”

Alya laughs, pulling her hand back from the statue and instead adjusting the mask on her face, hoping to further conceal her identity. “No, not yet. I don’t see myself going out of my way to.”

“And why is that?” they asked, watching as she drew her hand back up to the sculpture again, this time running her hands over the indents in his face.

“Well, I haven’t gotten the courage to even step inside the ballroom. It’s a bit unnerving meeting royalty, wouldn’t you think so?” She tilted her head, curls falling onto the side of her cheek, eyes trained on the statue. Alya wondered if it were an embellishment on behalf of the artist, or if his Majesty really looked how he did in marble. 

“I would say you’re perhaps the only lady in the whole kingdom not jumping at the chance of meeting him. You do recall this ball is so the prince can find a wife?” the man behind her asked, chuckling.

“Yes, but do  _ you _ recall that capturing his favor amongst a crowd of eligible young women is doubtful?” she responds, pulling her hand away from the sculpture.

“Perhaps. But who is to say the prince won’t have a keen eye out? Anything is possible at a ball such as this.”

Alya frowned as she gazed at the statue, at it, at  _ him _ . Just how could someone, even dressed as beautifully as she, capture the prince’s attention at such a high scale and wondrous event like this?

There was no doubt within her that the prince would have his eyes out for someone who could keep up with the everyday life of a royal. Certainly not a maid, and most definitely not one who was bound to those who owned the estate she lived and worked at, someone who just hours before had been forbidden from going to the ball and had gotten the help of her enchanted godmother.

Alya sighed, tugging upwards the sleeves to her gloves and raising a hand to her mask once more, pushing it deeper into her skin. Trixx had promised her it wouldn’t fall should she remember to leave before midnight, but Alya felt it become more of a habit to calm her nerves, a reminder she didn’t have to hide her thoughts, no matter who might be around her.

“In any case,” she says, “I find it unlikely I would gain his attention, or his affections at that.”

“Well, not to sound frank, but I feel as if I speak for the prince here when I say you’ve caught mine.”

He laughs, finally prompting Alya’s curiosity. 

Just  _ who _ was the stranger behind her? An aristocrat, or perhaps a member of his royal court? She turned her body around, eyes peeling away from the statue to lock onto the stranger.

Instead, Alya finds herself staring at none other but  _ him _ , cheeky grin on his face and a gloved hand extended outward. The statue she had spent so long admiring, now before her and come to life, complete with eyes that darted to her mask tried to guess what lay underneath it.

“Oh my! Prince Nino,” she gasps, before ducking her head quickly in an attempt to be respectful. She bows, going so far as to step backwards and give her prince some space. What Alya forgets, however, is how wide her dress is and doesn’t take many steps before she’s almost tipped over the sculpture, arms quickly moving backwards to grab it and hold the statue in place. Nino’s arms come forward, holding Alya steady as she does so, hands locked firmly but gently above her waist. Her cheeks burn at the contact, and it takes all in her to set the statue upright again, unsure if she or the statue was more unbalanced.

“That would’ve been a problem,” he says, smiling at her and motioning his head behind her, where the statue now lay upright. “I’d have a lot of explaining to do to my father.”

“Your father.”

“My father,” he repeats, letting out a laugh that makes her brain go fuzzy. “I don’t think I need to explain who he is, right?”

_ The king, _ she answers in her brain, a simple enough connection to make yet one that makes her legs go weak. Alya blinks up at him, eyes looking down at her with an intensity she couldn’t quite make out.

The sculpture was a lie. He was  _ much _ more handsome than it had shown, down to the way his skin just  _ glowed _ in the candlelight and she was sure would shine in the moonlight.

It takes her a second to realize his hands are still clasped at her sides, and Alya blushes. Although they hadn’t touched skin to skin, she realized even with a gloved hand,  _ the prince _ was holding her!

Nino seems to realize at the same time she does, and moves his hands away quickly, taking a step back in an attempt to keep formal distance between the two. He adjusts his gloves quickly, and Alya wonders if as a prince, it was his first time coming in contact with a citizen of the kingdom. Even more, she wonders if he would be so bold as to try and come in contact once more.

“Would you care to dance?” he asks after a moment in silence, listening to the musicians in the ballroom letting out a soft tune, one gorgeous enough to aid even the most incapable in dancing to manage a few rhythmed steps. Alya looks at the closed doors and wondered how they’d manage to make it towards the dance floor without a crowd surrounding them, surrounding the  _ prince _ . 

And then, Alya thought with a fright, how could she dance with the prince and not be spotted? She couldn’t draw too much attention to herself, or else they’d know she went. 

Alya frowned as she thought, unaware of the way his face dropped at her expression. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to. You’re not under any obligation to do so don’t feel any need to force yourself to join me in a dance if- “ Nino starts, attempting to apologize before she could even voice her thoughts. Even though he had just come face to face with the masked beauty, he felt his nerves spike up. 

“No,” Alya interrupts, uncaring if she stopped the prince from continuing on. She cleared her throat, stepping closer. “It’s not as if I  _ don’t _ want to dance, Your Highness, but it’s just… I wouldn’t want to have so many eyes on me.”

He nods, a smile coming over his face as she explained. Reaching for her hand, he gently took it, leading her past the ballroom doors and the guards, to where the garden lay, empty and beautiful in the night.

“We can still hear music, if you would prefer dancing here. I’m not so fond of the people’s eyes myself,” Nino says, stepping deeper into the garden and looking up at the moon.

Alya didn’t hide her grin, touched that the prince would be so understanding and caring. He was much gentler than she thought as well, and it wouldn’t take much convincing for her to believe her dreams were coming true right before her eyes.

“Shouldn’t a prince be more outgoing?”

“Of course. But still,” he says, eyes crinkling as he smiles, “I suppose there are a few exceptions to those expectations.”

“Well then, I’ll assume you’ll lead, your Royal Highness?” Alya asks, stepping more into the garden. 

“Please, just call me Nino.”

Swaying across the garden floor, the only light illuminating the two the moon and stars above them, Alya felt her heart soar. Nino was a talented dancer, and while she struggled to keep up with the quick movement of his feet, she didn’t feel as if it was a one-sided dance, but instead a duet of sorts, the two blending and working off the other’s steps.

“So, care to tell me a bit about yourself?” Nino asked after a moment. 

“There’s not much to tell,” Alya says. “I’m sure my life isn’t as interesting as someone royal’s would be.”

“You might be mistaken.” Nino dances them around the fountain, feet keeping in time with the music. “Balls and celebrations do little to keep someone happy if they aren’t alongside someone.”

“And is there no one for you?” she asks. Someone like him, not only so high in stature but so handsome, couldn’t have been as lonely as he spoke. 

“Well, I do have my closest friend,” Nino says. “He’s more than enough company. Although, I feel the person I want alongside me goes further than just a friend.” 

“Further than?” she asks. “Who could that be?”

He smiles, teeth as bright as the moon. “A partner, of course.”

Alya’s cheeks grow warm at the realization, that the ball wasn’t  _ just _ to find a wife. No, perhaps he sought something else at this ball, someone who would go beyond just the word of wife. 

She nods, continuing to sway with him. “Well, I’ve never been to a ball before, or the palace even. It’s certainly interesting to me, even the tiniest bits,” Alya mentions. 

“That I know. If you had attended any before, I would’ve spotted you.” Eyes darting up to catch hers, Nino quirked a brow. “With or without the mask, for that matter.”

“You’re quite charming,” Alya tells him, smiling. He takes another step, then twists her around. Back pressed to his body, Nino pulls her closer. 

“You’re quite something yourself,” he tells her, her curls brushing against his face. She looked back at him, blinking upwards.

Nino  _ certainly _ was a sight to behold upon. The longer she stared at him, the more Alya felt under a trance. 

He trained his gaze on her eyes, so wide and welcoming and beautiful. Although the mask did conceal most of her features, Nino felt a warmth on her face the closer he grew to her. And with that, he wondered if she felt warmth from his face as well. 

“Your Highness?” Alya whispers, watching him suddenly look much closer than he had before. Butterflies start up in her stomach, fluttering and dancing together. 

“Call me Nino,” he says, voice low. 

Eyes still on her, moonlight dancing off her skin and the ballroom music coming to a climax, Nino leaned in. 

The clock chimed before their lips touched, bringing Alya out of her daze. She blinked, then separated from Nino quickly, looking around the garden for an exit. Spotting a staircase leading down, she made for it. 

“I have to go!” she exclaimed, grabbing the sides of her dress and rushing quickly down the steps. Alya wasn’t sure how long she’d have until it all turned back to her rags, but wouldn’t wait to find out. “It’s  _ midnight _ !”

Nino steps after her, intent on catching up. “But I never got your name, or- “

“I’m terribly sorry, your Highness, but- “

“Wait!”

“I’m sorry!” 

She left nothing but the mask, planted right on the bottom of the stairs. Clutching it gently, Nino hoped he would soon find the face that lay underneath it, the person who had captivated and left him entranced. Looking off at where she disappeared, he hoped it would be easy. 

And while it didn’t take as short of a time as he had wished for it, when Nino finally came across her after such a long search, he had never been so glad to be with her. 

To be with  _ Alya _ , his Alya. 

**Author's Note:**

> mari-cheres on tumblr!


End file.
